Myrtles Plantation
Myrtles Plantation is the first episode of the second season as well as the season premiere of Ghost Hunters. Synopsis The guys travel to Louisiana to investigate rumored hauntings at the Myrtles Plantation, which is now a bed-and-breakfast.https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/ghost-hunters/episodes-season-2/191528/ Site The original house of antebellum architecture on the Myrtles Plantation was built in 1796 by General David Bradford, who moved there with his wife Elizabeth and their five children after his 1799 presidential pardon. It was originally dubbed 'Laurel Grove'. In 1834, three years after Elizabeth died, her son-in-law Clarke Woodruff sold the land, along with its slaves, to Ruffin Gray Stirling and his wife, Mary Catherine Cobb. It was then in the mid-1850s that they extended the one-and-a-half-story house and almost doubling its size. It was then the planation was renamed 'The Myrtles' for the flowers that grew nearby. After the American Civil War, now-widow Mary hired William Drew Winter as her lawyer, whom he then married her daughter Sarah and had six children, with a daughter Kate dying from typhoid at the age of 3. In 1871, William Winter was killed on the porch of the house, possibly by a man named E.S. Webber. His murder is the only recorded death on the property to this day. His wife, Sarah, continued to live in the house until she died seven years later, and her mother Mary two years after that. Sarah's brother Stephen inherited the site, but was forced to sell due to the substantial family debt. The house would continue to be sold and owned by numerous people until it came to the possession of John and Teeta Moss, who continue to run the establishment as a bed-and-breakfast from the previous owners. Investigation Donna receives a phone call from the Myrtles Plantation, and the team heads to the city of New Orleans to debunk its reputation as one of the most haunted places in the country. Jason and Grant meet Hester Eby, the manager of the plantation who acts as the guide. She gestures the small path the men walked behind them, telling them that the transparent spirit of a slave named Chloe is seen. Inside the main house, she shows them a famed mirror who, despite the glass being 14 years old, visitors have consistently caught the shapes of two small children in the mirror in photographs. Outside in the man-made pond, visitors have once again captured the shape of a Confederate soldier in photographs. In the ladies' parlor, Hester recounts the experience she had when she was with a group and felt the tug of a small child's hand on her clothes a few times. However, there was no little kid around. Hester tells them the story of William Winter, a previous owner who was shot and made it up the seventeenth step of the stairs before dying in his wife's arms. Guests have since reported hearing the steps of someone slowly coming up the stairs. Because of the venue's vast area and given its large amount of paranormal reports, the team decides to put their limited amount of cameras in the most haunted areas of the plantation. Brian and Steve commence an EVP session in the ballroom/dining area of the main house. On the second floor, Grant and Jason investigate the staircase with thermal imaging cameras, and immediately see a see-through green flash walk through the screen. In the gentleman's parlor, Brian sees something black move, and after Steve requests the entities make their presence known, they hear a noise. Paula and Krystyn investigate the area around the stairs on the ground floor, when she suddenly notices large EMF spikes coming from a spot. They conclude it was from an A/C. Brian and Steve go outside to the gazebo area to investigate reports of children and a Confederate soldier. However, Brian is called by Grant to set up a camera in the slaves' shack, and he and Jason discuss their frustrations out in the front walk. Steve, now alone, suddenly notices a shape reminiscent of someone twisting their back to look - as he flashes his light he sees something flutter behind a tree. When Brian returns, Steve replays what he saw when he himself notices a shadow and hears a noise like someone running. Jason and Grant, still outside and idly walking, notice something better defined but still transparent past the imaging camera once more. Jason believes it looked like a human torso. Inside the slave shack, they notice a change in pressure in the ears. They also have a deep conversation of whether what they're doing matters. Results Brian and Steve share footage of a human-shaped shadow that appears to be outside the front entrance of the main house - they believe it could be an actual person lurking outside. But then, footage inside the slave shack with the lead investigators show a lamp slowly slide on its own across the table. They are unsure of what caused it to move. Before they're meeting with Hester, they try moving the lamp but notice that they also move the tablecloth underneath it, something that doesn't happen in the video. They explain that the children who guests saw in the mirror are probably the result of matrixzing (a natural tendency of the mind to recognize complex shapes and patterns), and that smudging on the inside and outside of the glass can combine with tarnishing metal to form the image of a face or hand. They show her the thermal imaging footage and the lamp moving, but they also include the shadow on the front door. Nonetheless, they conclude that there is enough paranormal activity to call the Myrtles Plantation "one of the most haunted places in America." Investigators * Kristyn Gartland - Field Specialist * Jenn Rossi - Field Investigator Trivia *TAPS Headquarters has now moved into a new office space in Warwick, Rhode Island. Team members were featured helping paint and set up the new location. Another new addition was a new van that acts as a mobile command unit with workbenches, monitors and more equipment. *Jason and Grant confront Brian about him lying to his workplace and TAPS regarding meetings he's skipped, and given his past mistakes. They make him sign a contract detailing TAPS' policies and rules so he understands the gravity of his current situation. References Category:Ghost Hunters Category:Episodes Category:Season 2 Category:Season 2 Episodes